Page 34 of More Than a Little Spark

Me:Wonderful.That sure makes for a Merry Christmas.And we’re having a great day so far.

I hit send and let my fingers hover over the screen a second.Then I type out another message.

Me:Fred called me Dad.

Daphne:And now I’m crying all over again.That’s awesome.You’re a great dad.He’s a lucky kid.Really, I think you’re both lucky.You found each other and made a family.

Me:We did.Merry Christmas, beautiful

Daphne sends a kissing emoji, which sends my thoughts on that rabbit trail.I haven’t kissed her yet, but I sure have spent a lot of time thinking about kissing her.At first, I was waiting to make sure I had real feelings.

And I for sure feel something.

Chapter14

Daphne

Daphne

The last few months have been the best of my adult life.And it’s not just Carson that’s good.My siblings and I are talking regularly again.My foot healed, and I’m no longer hobbling around on crutches.Life is just good.

Which means I’ve been keeping an eye on the sky.Because whenever I have a parade, life rains on it.And because I have a date scheduled with Carson tomorrow on Valentine’s Day, I’m a little extra nervous.

I tuck my purse into the bottom drawer of my desk, turn on the computer, then open the calendar to make sure I’m informed about the day’s schedule.Both mine and Austin’s.

Normally, I run and grab coffee, but a pop-up notification snags my attention.I open the email from Austin that has the subject Job Posting.I can hammer out a quick job listing super quick and have one thing off my plate.He hires new programmers pretty routinely.

But when I read the rest—the part I couldn’t see in the pop-up—fear swirls like dark clouds overhead.The job description is a lot of the stuff I do.And it’s listed as an admin position.

Maybe I do need that cup of coffee first.

As I stand, Austin pops his head out of his office.“Hey, have a few minutes to meet before everyone else arrives?”

I nod and trudge into his office, willing to bet that whatever he wants to talk about is going to douse my parade.

He points to a chair as he sits behind his desk.“You can leave the door open.This won’t take long.”

I ease into the armchair, bracing myself for bad news.“I saw the email about the job.”

He taps on his keyboard, gaze fixed on his screen.“That’s why I wanted to talk to you.This has been a few weeks coming, but I had to get a few things in order before this conversation could take place.”

I cross my arms and breathe in deeply.“Okay.”

He glances at me.“You cold?Is everything okay?”Genuine concern shows in his eyes.

“Please just say what you called me in here for.”

With a puzzled look on his face, he stares at me a second, then gives a small shake of his head.“When you were out for that week and I was covering for you?—”

“I’m so sorry about that.I tried to come back as soon as?—”

He puts a hand up.“I’m not upset about it.But I realized how much you do.It’s a lot.Marv and I couldn’t run this place without you.We barely made it through that week.”He slides a sheet of paper across the desk.“That’s the reason for the job posting.We’re hiring someone to help you.”

“To help me?”I blink, processing what he’s saying.

“Yes.You didn’t think I’d try to replace you?I don’t even want to think about training someone new.And you know as well as I do, that most people wouldn’t enjoy working with me.”

“You’re a great boss.”

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